School Research Paper on Tattoos in the Workplace Wins Best Article Award

A paper on research by the School’s Michael T. French (pictured right), professor of health sector management and policy and Philip K. Robins, professor of economics, which found that having a tattoo has no impact on an individual’s employment or earnings, has won the 2016 Georgescu-Roegen Prize.

The award is presented each year by the Southern Economic Association® to the author(s) of the best academic article published in the Southern Economic Journal®.

The paper by French and Robins, “Tattoos and Labor Market Earnings: Is There a Link in the Ink?” was published in February 2016.

The research showed that after accounting for personal traits such as education, behavioral choices, human capital, lifestyle factors, there was no significant difference in the way people with tattoos are treated in the workplace than those without tattoos.

The study was the first to rigorously investigate whether having a tattoo is significantly associated with employment or earnings.

The 2016 Georgescu-Roegen Prize will be presented during the Southern Economic Association Conference this November in Washington, D.C.